FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq – The Soldiers of B Company, 403rd Civil Affairs Battalion transferred authority to the 1411th Civil Affairs Company here on August 24 after a successful 10-month deployment to Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The two companies stood in formation before an attentive crowd of Soldiers from the 172nd infantry brigade, Blackhawks, the current brigade B Company has worked with during their last months in Iraq.
The commander of B Co., Maj. Richard E. Brown, cased the guidon of his company to symbolize the transfer of authority to the 1411th CA Co.
Immediately following the casing of the colors of B Co., the guidon of the 1411th Co., a provisional civil affairs company from Edison, N.J. was uncased.
Brown, the outgoing commander, addressed the formation on the way his unit adapted during their deployment to new environments and their ability to work outside of doctrine when it did not apply.
“In the last year we have done a lot of non-doctrinal stuff,” said Brown. “Everything we did, we resourced it, we trained it and we went out and we did that.”
“I can’t begin to tell you how proud I am of each and every one of you,” Brown, a resident of Cortland, N.Y. said to his troops
Bravo Co. has deployed three times in the Global War on Terror. The experienced civil affairs company has worked in Afghanistan and now twice in Iraq. The 1411th is on their first deployment as a civil affairs company, because they were originally a chemical company.
“Bravo, 403rd, we are taking over and we are ready to fill those big shoes,” said Capt. Kristen L. Brockman, commander, 1411th Civil Affairs Co, from Jackson, New Jersey. “We know that you guys have done an outstanding job.”
After receiving notification of their mission in Oct. 2008, the 1411th began training to transform from a chemical unit to a civil affairs company. After completing their training in July, the 1411th deployed in August under Task Force Blackhawk in Babil Province, Iraq.
